By Michelle Crandell
A great tower looms before the Fool, magnificent and oddly familiar. “Oh, yeah,” he muses, “I helped build this tower, back in the day. I was quite full of myself back then.” He laughs ruefully, “I bet there are a lot of people strutting around up there right now… all talking about themselves at the same time, trying to impress each other.” He sighs, “I’m so glad I’m above all that now.”
His own words hit him. “Whoa! I was SO sure I’d left my arrogant self in the past, with Death. Here I am… thinking I’m superior, far more enlightened than ‘other people’ because I’m on a ‘spiritual quest.’ How foolish!” He shouts to the people in the Tower, “You’re not special either!” Immediately, a bolt of lightning strikes the Tower. The roof is in flames, people leap into the waters below. Some die on the rocks or are burned in the flames. When it’s over, the Tower is rubble, a pile of bricks and rocks. People stagger away, shocked and lost.
This cataclysmic event stuns the Fool. “Did I do that?” His inner voice replies, “No. You are witnessing the result of hubris, denial, prejudice and self-deception. Do you still possess some of these qualities?” Insight comes suddenly, clarity of vision, like an inner eye just opened. He sees he’s been deceiving himself about many things that are real about the world, others and sadly, himself. Feeling empty and lost, the Fool sits down on cold, hard stones and gazes at the night sky.
Michelle Crandell provides individual readings for a fee. Once a year, she teaches LEARN TO READ TAROT. For more information, email michelle.crandell@gmail.com or call 501-655-6242.
